Clerical Error
From 1979 to 1981, I worked as a legislative clerk (proofreader) for the California Legislative Counsel Bureau (LCB). The area I worked in was probably responsible for the clerical error in the budget that eliminated funding for family planning clinics that “promote” abortion.
Despite Gov. George Deukmejian’s claim that signing the restrictions was legal, I cannot see that his move was anything more than sheer exploitation of an administrative weakness. It was a self-righteous political power grab to force his views on other people, in spite of, and not through, the democratic process.
The last year I worked for the LCB, I spent all night one Saturday, proofing provisions for the budget. Then, at 2 a.m. on Sunday, I was called back in because they needed one more person. I don’t care how much coffee I drank, I knew very well I was not at my most accurate.
The idea of a bleary-eyed, $5-an-hour clerk writing law, by omission, is frightening. The idea of a governor, duly elected and sworn to uphold the Constitution, taking advantage of that situation, and ignoring legislative intent and constitutional process, makes me sick to my stomach.
ELIZABETH SCHWEITZER
Santa Monica
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
